Dorayaki
by Yamino Majo
Summary: For the August round of DGM flashfics. Amidst settling in the new Home, secret missions, and her usual bouts of depression, Miranda works on figuring out how to apologize to Marie for the whole Zombie fiasco.


Dorayaki

Rating: G

For the August round at the LJ community, dgrayflashfics. Prompt was Marie/Miranda.

Notes:

-I toyed with the honorifics and decided to not use the Japanese ones. Hopefully that isn't too weird sounding.

-I am using the non-official spelling of Link's boss's name. And Linali's. I think Miranda's is official though…

-Dorayaki is hard to make (the things I do for fic research…). I also wonder why Marie's Austrian but likes a common Japanese dessert…

--

Miranda Lott was having a crisis.

Her favorite place in the old Tower had been the roof, where she could hide behind one of the buttresses and have herself a good freak-out session without alarming any of the other inhabitants of the Order. Unfortunately, she had yet to find an equivalent place in the new Home, which meant that she had to have her …episodes, in public.

"…I'm sorry…I'm so useless…I suck…" she whimpered, chewing on her handkerchief, knowing that she was drawing some weirded-out glances from the others in the dining room, but still trying to be as low key as possible. It was over such an idiotic thing too, but she just couldn't help it. The more she thought about it, the more her embarrassment and mortification and guilt swamped her, and the more she tried to not think about it, the more she thought about it.

_I bit him. I __**bit**__ him. What am I going to do? I need to apologize or I'll never be able to look at him (or anyone else that saw it) in the eye again!_

If it was anyone else, she was fairly certain she would've gotten over it, or at least have been satisfied at knowing that it was all her fault and that she was completely hopeless, and let it end there. But it was _Marie_…Fighting together while their comrades had been trapped in the Ark, working side by side in retrieving the Akuma Plant during the attack on Headquarters…this was the man who was angered on her behalf when the generals went for the Egg, willing to trade her life to make sure it didn't fall back into the Earl's hands. Even now, she remembered his gentle hand on hers, _Miranda, it's all right now_.

"What's wrong?" A hand landed lightly on her shoulder and Miranda shrieked, spilling her coffee and nearly jumping straight up. "Miranda, Miranda, calm down," that kind, sweet voice…

"Linali?" Miranda wheezed, a hand over her heart, currently trying to pound itself out of her ribcage. "Oh, dear. Please don't startle me like that…"

"Sorry, sorry." Linali smiled, and sat down next to the time-controlling exorcist with her own tray. She offered a napkin for the spilled coffee. "What's wrong? You seem down…more than usual, anyway."

Miranda laughed nervously, righting her cup and mopping at the mess. "Oh, nothing. I don't want to trouble you with it, Linali."

"Don't say that." Linali chided, bending her own napkin to the cleaning task at hand. "Here, I got it…." They soon had everything put to rights and Linali started on her meal while Miranda bemoaned her uselessness (silently) some more. She extricated herself from her morass of self-flagellation long enough to notice that there were new bandages around Linali's arm.

Everyone had more or less recovered from the attack of the Level 4 (those that could, in any case. Miranda added the names of those that had died because she wasn't strong enough onto her ever-lengthening list of things she hated about herself), and the Moving Fiasco didn't garner too many injuries (except bite marks on the neck). "Linali…did you just get back from a mission?" Miranda asked timidly, temporarily forgetting her crisis.

"Oh, this thing," Linali smiled, touching the bandage. "It's minor, don't worry about it. Compared to that," Miranda eeped as Linali poked her lightly in the arm, "I'm more worried about you. The shadows under your eyes are getting darker, aren't they? Tell me what's wrong."

--

In the end, Miranda reaffirmed what everyone at the Order already knew: it was impossible to say 'No' to Linali Li when she had her mind set on something, especially when her friends are involved. Slowly and stuttering in places, Miranda spilled the cause of her current crisis.

"So now he must hate me," Miranda moaned quietly. They had relocated to Linali's new room, which opened up to a beautiful sight of the ocean and the cliffs. The other exorcist hummed under her breath as she carefully combed Miranda's hair.

"Don't be silly," Linali replied. "Marie is one of the nicest exorcists around. I doubt he would hate you for such a small thing."

"But I _bit_ him."

Linali snickered. "Well, I'm sure he bit a lot of other people. And the Head Nurse bit _you_." The smooth strokes in her hair were unbelievably soothing, and Miranda found herself relaxing for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"But he's been avoiding me." Miranda whispered…and then cringed under Linali's steady gaze, her hand automatically going to her Time Record in a nervous gesture. The other exorcist wasn't being accusing or anything, but Miranda had to grudgingly revise her words. "…all right. _I've_ been avoiding him. I just can't face him after what I've done!"

"Miranda…" Linali sighed. After a moment (In which Miranda wallowed in her uselessness, again), she added, "Why don't you just apologize then? I'm sure he'll forgive you, if he even thinks there's anything to forgive."

"I…but what if he doesn't accept it?"

"Nonsense," Linali tsked. "I know, you can bring him a gift to make it up to him."

Miranda turned it over in her mind. A gift…that might work. It would add something tangible to her worthless apology, in any case. She smiled shyly at the other woman. "It…sounds like a good idea." Then a thought occurred to her and her face fell. "But…I have no idea what he would want!"

--

Linali was no help on that front, and her suggestion of asking one of Marie's teammates sent Miranda quivering with fear. Well, no…she wasn't afraid of General Theodore. He was a kind old man who seemed like he wouldn't get angry at her uselessness, but he was a _general_. She could still see his Innocence ripping through those giant Akuma like paper.

After seeing _that_, asking something as trivial as "What do you think Marie would like as an apology gift?" seemed grossly inappropriate.

And she didn't even want to _think_ about asking Kanda. Kanda ate Finders, Akuma and weak exorcists for breakfast. Kanda was a demon (according to most people). Kanda would probably think her question was stupid and cut her into itty bitty pieces.

…okay, maybe not the last one (about the cutting, not about the stupid questions).

"What am I going to do!?" She wailed to herself. The stone walls in her room remained unhelpfully silent.

--

And so Reever found her in her room a few hours later, well-stewed in her own anxiety and depression. The air of gloom that permeated the hall made the scientist take a step back after she opened the door at his knock.

"Yes, Mr. Reever?" She asked despondently, the dark clouds writhing around her like a living thing. "What can this useless one do for you?"

"Er…um, that is, the Supervisor wants to see you." Reever coughed. "It's a mission."

--

"A _secret_ mission." Komui said, his face uncharacteristically serious. He was so serious that Miranda didn't dare do anything except hold her small packet with the briefing and nod, even if she wanted to panic. "It won't be easy, but it's also imperative that the details of this mission don't leave this room."

Komui's new office was already a disaster area, even though there seemed to be a bit more free space on the ground than usual. Beside her on the couch, Kanda glanced through his packet with an annoyed expression. Miranda nearly had a heart attack when she first bumped into him in the hallway in front of Komui's office. "Che. We're watching the moyashi?"

"Officially." Komui steepled his hands together. "The Vatican already has their eyes on Allen, but they've also requested surveillance support from the Dark Order."

"Che." Kanda said again, and Miranda wasn't sure if it was annoyance at the Vatican, annoyance at the mission, or both.

"I've given your names as my recommendations for the team to be sent with Allen and I'm not expecting any objections." Komui's glasses glinted eerily. "Officially you two are to support Investigator Howard Link during his surveillance of Allen. If the situation changes and force is required, you two will also be expected to provide it."

"And unofficially?" Miranda asked meekly. The only reason she dared to ask was because Allen…Allen was the first person to say 'thank you' to her…the person, along with Linali, who saw her as someone more than a waste of air, and made her believe it too. She couldn't conceive of fighting Allen.

"You want us to keep an eye on Link." Kanda snorted.

Miranda gulped when Komui nodded. "The Vatican is just dying to catch Allen at something," he said grimly. "They'll jump at any excuse…and having Link so close is dangerous. I want you two to make sure he doesn't have anything to report back to Levellier." He nodded toward the packets in their hands. "The details are in there, get rid of the information once you've read it. Good luck."

Miranda clutched the papers in her sweaty palms. Beside her, Kanda grumbled out another, "Che!" followed by something about stupid beansprouts.

--

There is no time like the present, and Komui's words and their unorthodox mission had her so flustered that the words came out before she could really think about them. "um…M-Mr. Kanda?"

Mugen's conformer paused in his purposeful stride away from Komui's office. "What?" He asked.

"Um…um…that is…" Miranda wrung her hands. They can't speak about the mission because it was secret, but they would be working together in the near future…This was her chance to ask! "IwaswonderingifyouknewwhatsortofthingsMr.Marielikes." She said all in a rush.

Kanda's blank look turned more blank, less with apathy and more with confusion. "What?" he said again.

"M-Mr. Marie," she repeated, gathering her courage. "Might you know…what he likes?"

"Likes?" Kanda seemed to realize that he was turning into a parrot. "Why do you want to know?" he asked back suspiciously.

Most people agreed that Kanda's most scathing glare could probably peel paint at twenty paces. His stare was not quite as scary but Miranda wilted under it nonetheless. "I-I-…that is…um…"

After they continued the tableau for a few more seconds, Kanda broke off the eye contact. "Che, whatever." He muttered. "Marie likes music and anything classical. And," Kanda's face wrinkled in distaste. "He likes dorayaki, for some reason. I have no idea why, it's disgustingly sweet."

"Do-dorayaki?" Miranda asked instinctively, still stunned by the fact that Kanda was actually volunteering information.

Apparently Kanda had used up his helpfulness quota for the day. "Go ask Jerry." he said shortly and left without another word.

--

Jerry, in contrast, was eager to be helpful. "Dorayaki? Ah, it's very delicious," the man flounced away from the ordering window and left Miranda stuttering before coming back, holding out a plate with a flourish. "Marie seems to like it, so I always keep some on hand." He gestured encouragingly. "Here, try some."

Miranda reached for one timidly – it seemed to be some sort of disc-shaped pancake with something pressed in between. "Wh-what is it made of?"

"Take a bite." Jerry beamed and she did. Her eyes widened. "Delicious, isn't it?"

Miranda nodded, chewing. The pancake-looking parts didn't quite taste like pancake, and the filling had a strange, grainy texture to it that was nonetheless quite far from being unpleasant. "What's this inside?" She asked, poking at the filling.

"Sweet red bean paste, it's ooooooh, so good." Jerry hugged himself in bliss.

Miranda finished the one she had in hand and gulped. "So…Do you make this for Mr. Marie very often?" It was useless…there was no way she could make this 'dorayaki' at the level of the Order's head chef, and she didn't even want to think about handing Marie a plate when he could get something much better from Jerry.

"Every once in awhile…" Jerry placed his elbows on the ordering window. "So, you're thinking of making Marie some dorayaki?" she couldn't see his eyes behind his shades but his eyebrows were cocked slyly. "What's the occasion? Hmmm??"

"No-no-that is…um, that's not…!" Miranda stuttered, holding her hands up in her defense. "I…" She slumped a little. "Never mind, it's stupid, ohohoho." she laughed weakly. "I'm sure Mr. Marie would much rather have your dorayaki instead. I'll just be on my way—ack!"

Before she could escape, Jerry had reached out and caught her sleeve. She glanced back at the man and was taken aback at the sparkles now surrounding him. And were those roses in the background?!

"Food…" Jerry said, his head lowered, "tastes best when it's made with…LOVE!" Miranda yelped as he reeled her into the kitchen with surprising strength. "No matter what, it tastes the best when it's made with love! I will help you, Miranda!!"

"Eh? W-Wait, Mr. Jerry, that's not what I—eeeeeehhhh!"

--

"Ah, Miranda, there you…..are….." Linali trailed off when she took in the full sight of the side-kitchen. "…what happened?"

Miranda stood in the only space left on the floor not covered with broken plates, eggshells and what appeared to be flour, sugar or a mix of both (the truth was, there was some baking soda in there as well). The older woman held a plate of unidentifiable brown things. "L-Linali…"

"Miranda, we have a mission…" Allen continued from behind Linali, and then his eyes widened as he took in the view. "Eh?"

"Coming through, coming through!" Jerry called over an armful of supplies and Linali and Allen instinctively pressed themselves against the hall to let him pass. "Ooh, Miranda, this batch looks better!" The Head Chef navigated the destroyed kitchen with the skill of one who was used to the mess and set his box down. He studied the plate and then took one of the brown things, biting into it and chewing thoughtfully. "Hmmm, the taste is heavenly." Miranda perked up slightly at the praise, but then deflated.

"Bu-but they look awful…"

"The taste is the first part to work on," Jerry nodded to his own words of wisdom. "The form will come with practice. Oooh, Allen, dear! Please come and try some!"

Allen picked a path through the various things on the floor, Linali following. "What are these?" He asked, taking one and eating it. Miranda almost shed a tear at his willingness to try her food, as unpalatable as it looked (Neglecting the fact that parasite types will eat _anything_ with calorie count). "Oh…they don't look very dorayaki-like, but they're good!" And just like that, the contents of the plate were gone.

"Th-thank you?" Miranda stared at the empty plate. Well, at least now she didn't have to worry about wasting food by throwing the dorayaki attempts away. "Did you say…we have a mission?"

Allen's smile was as bright as ever, but Miranda thought it looked a little forced. "Yes, you and me and Kanda. It should be short though, but Reever said we should be ready to leave later today, right after dinner."

"There's time to try one more batch!" Jerry noted cheerfully. "I'm sure this next one will be it!"

--

And so, fifteen or so batches of failed (in various degrees) dorayaki later, Miranda Lott found herself holding a plate of the things while standing in front of an unfamiliar door. Or rather, it was a familiar looking door as all the living quarters looked pretty much the same for the Exorcists, but it was unfamiliar because it wasn't _her_ door. It was Marie's, and it was finally time to get her apology and gift to the man.

_I should have just bought him something_, she thought, sweating. _A nice record, maybe, or a book_, never mind that space was limited and she hadn't the faintest idea what she would do if she got him something he already had. _This is absolutely idiotic; I should just go before I make a fool of myself_….

The door opened and Marie peered out, looking slightly confused. She had forgotten that he had such sharp ears. "Miss Miranda?"

"I'm SORRY!" Miranda yelped. "I didn't mean to hover by your door like a creepy stalker! I was just going to leave goodbyeeeeee!"

"Wait!" And she was so startled by his call that she tripped (over _nothing_) and she could feel herself falling and the plate of dorayaki leaving her hands—

And she never hit the ground, and neither did the dorayaki. Marie had effortlessly reached out and saved the plate, a hand on her elbow pulling her back into balance.

"That was close." Marie sighed as he righted them both. "Are you all right, Miss Miranda?"

"I-yes, oh, dear…I'm sorry!" Miranda took back the plate with shaking hands. "I-I mean, thank you for helping me, I'm so sorry to cause trouble."

"None at all," Marie said graciously in his deep, calm voice. "What can I do for you? You have a mission later today, right?"

Miranda blinked when she realized he thought she needed help on something mission-related, though it was somewhat surprising that he knew—well, no, wait. Mission rosters weren't publicly posted but they weren't top secret either, and Kanda was on the mission so it's not unusual his teammate would know about it. "Uh, that isn't…I mean…" She took a deep breath and steadied her nerves. When she held out the plate, they no longer shook.

"…are those dorayaki?" Marie asked, bemused.

Miranda nodded staring hard at the ground and trying to not stutter. "I-I would like to apologize for—" _biting you and turning you into a zombie_, "—my behavior during the move of Headquarters. I've caused you no end of trouble and I-I'm very sorry. Please accept this as a token of my apology."

She had rehearsed the speech endlessly in her room…it didn't come out too badly.

"Miss Miranda…" She peered up at him (The man was so _tall_) and he still looked a little bemused. "There is nothing to apologize for, the whole situation was out of our hands." And then his eyes crinkled in a smile. "I'm glad it was you…According to Allen, the Head Nurse nearly tore a chunk of his arm off. At least you didn't bite me that hard."

"Uh…um…." Miranda felt her face starting to turn red.

Marie closed the door behind him. "I was just heading down to the dining hall. Would you like to join me? We can get dinner, and then have some _matcha_ tea to go with these dorayaki for dessert."

Miranda tried to swallow down her pounding heart, and then managed a smile and a nod.

Omake:

_Headquarters dining hall, 8:30pm_

Linali sat down with her tray, surveying the hall to make sure all the pieces of her world were in their right places. Allen was across from her, inhaling a stack of food as tall as he was at the speed of light. Lavi was eating his own meal, albeit at a more human pace. Kanda was…She frowned.

"Kanda, why are you looking over there with that 'ew, girls have cooties!' expression?" She asked.

Kanda's gaze snapped to her instead. "I was NOT."

"You were TOO." She glanced in the direction he had been staring at. "Oh, isn't that Miranda and Marie? Looks like they're having tea."

"They're eating dorayaki." Kanda muttered. "I knew she was up to something…"

"It's cute," Linali noted. "And stop that 'all girls are evil' glare, it's not like they're _dating_ or anything."

Kanda muttered something about hoping that General Theodore never finds out, because then they'll never reach the end of the crying and well wishes and 'My Marie is growing up!'s.

--

End


End file.
